“Aspen’s father. Not that it’s really any of your business.” I put my hand on the wood, my voice lowering. “I stopped by the APD this morning after leaving them a few voice messages. They had no idea what I was talking about. Have something to say about that?” I arched a brow in challenge.
Lynx opened his mouth, eyes darting around the room quickly, the veins of his neck tense and raised.
When he didn’t say more, I pushed on the door, sending him staggering back a step as I swung it shut.
Chapter13
Oakley
The next twenty minutes I spent scrolling my phone, looking at photos and videos of Hazel, tears welling in my eyes at the memory of her holding my hand as I delivered Aspen. It was one of the few times I’d seen my sister cry, and I’d clutched her palm so tightly, she was probably in pain from my death grip, but all I could see was her overwhelming joy.
We’d made so many plans for sisterly shenanigans once Aspen and I moved in, like watching all our favorite classy witchy flicks. Mine beingBell, Book and Candle, hers,The Craft. We’d bring back our tradition of watchingPractical Magicon All Hallows’ Eve with margaritas in hand—the virgin variety when we were little, of course, the potent variety when we got older. Then we’d teach Aspen all about our magic and the Goddess that had blessed us.
That vision for our family felt like it was slipping away with each passing day she was gone. I’d tried to rationalize her absence, but if she were merely on a date, surely Atlas’s people would have located her by now, or I’d at least have a reassuring text about what she was up to.
The not knowing if she was okay hung constantly over me like a blanket of exhaustion, on top of the exhaustion I already dealt with. Hopefully there’d be more news from Atlas’s contact soon.
Aspen nestled into my shoulder perched back atop his cushioned seat after he’d finished feeding. I patted his back, shutting the office door behind us with a quivering hand. The crowd of witches in the kitchen and living area of the house seemed to have multiplied since I’d been tucked away, stewing over the revelation that Lynx was full of shit and conveniently left out the fact that he was married.
Unlike mortals, witches didn’t traditionally wear bands to signify their committed partnerships. Instead, they had vow marks. Runes embedded with hex magic that punished those who broke their marital oaths.
Luckily, Lynx wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but his lies were catching up with him tonight, and I deserved answers.
When I got back to the yard, Atlas was beaming, his voice carrying over the throng of witches, always a charmingly dominant presence. My neighbors congregated, waiting eagerly to sidle next to him for a selfie. I groaned. The last thing we needed was the gossip gremlins with their cameras and notepads showing up and disturbing the safe haven I’d made for us away from allthat.
He waved me over once he spotted me, causing a few women to frown in my direction. Holding Aspen close to me, I smiled and nodded at Ivy and Jade, who were busy with their husbands and children in one corner of the yard. One toddler was spinning in circles, the other jumping and tugging on Jade’s shirt. I could barely handle one, how did she manage three?
Probably with a heavy dose of magic and caffeine.
“You okay?” Atlas asked, taking Aspen from my arms.
“Just missing Hazel.” It was true, but that was only one demon I was dealing with right now. The other came wrapped in a beautiful brawny package that had a window straight through my emotional walls.
“Of course.” He nodded toward the yard’s gate. “You want to get out of here? We can go back home and make a quiet night of it as the full moon finishes its ascent.”
“No, it’s okay.” The last thing I wanted to do was go home during the full moon and have Atlas there with his…illusions.More likedelusions.
I didn’t know if I’d be able to resist him with my skittering Desire begging for replenishment.
The full moon recharged witches’ individual gifts but it also made all supernaturals particularly insatiable. No one knew exactly why, but when the Moon Goddess rose high in the sky each month, it filled the air with wild energy and magic.
Steam wafted from the cauldron set on the pergola’s dais. A small table and chair had been moved next to it with a deck of tarot cards spread across its top, a few floating midair. My next-door neighbor, an elderly woman with silver hair and maroon eyes, snatched one in her hand, showing it to the witch whose reading she was doing, pointing at the symbols. “I was actually thinking we could get our cards read by Ruby.”
He huffed, unimpressed, but before I asked again, he put a hand on my spine, stepping behind me to follow. “Whatever you want.”
We moved through the crowd, Atlas waving pleasantly to people that approached him. Suddenly everyone wanted to introduce themselves to the both of us, and my mom brain was finding it impossible to keep their names straight. After about ten introductions, we made it to the center of the moonluck.
“New faces for a full moon reading. How blessed am I?” Ruby said, lifting a finger toward the chair across from her. “Come. Sit.”
Atlas nodded to me, so I sat down, scoping out the cards. The deck had a large bloated moon at its center, ornate swirls adorning the black background in coppery foiling. It had to have been the most beautiful design I’d ever seen. Not that I’d had a reading done many times, but my sister loved them when we were growing up, often dragging me along. Pairing it with her premonitions, she loved to draw out the true meanings behind the cards since they often were ambiguous.
“Go ahead and set your intention, dear.”
With a wave of her hand she scooped up all the cards before dropping the deck into the cauldron in front of her. Pungent liquid swirled within, and I watched as they all disappeared into the bubbling, endless depths.
We sat there in silence for a few moments, Ruby dangling a clear quartz until its swinging motion came to an abrupt halt. Snapping the crystal into her palm, she tucked it into her pocket. “Now reach in, dear.”
I wrinkled my nose at the unfamiliar smell coming from the cauldron. “What is it?”
